Quick Glossary:
Gaming = The concept of playing computer games
Gamer = One that plays computer games
Mod = Modified (used in the context of talking about modified versions of a game; a mod)
“Computer games and higher education are like species that share an ancestor but have diverged wildly in their evolution.”(Herz, 1997)
The fascination of gaming started in the early 1980’s when Ronald Reagan claimed that the qualities of computer games would help create highly skilled cold war warriors while U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop believed that games were among the top health risks that would face Americans, already here it was evident that computer games had different consequences to different people. (Squire, 2002). Gaming to many people mean many things; to some it means a waste of time, to others it is a means of education and to many it is a contributing factor to violence. In this blog I will examine the various aspects of gaming and list the negative and positive attributes of gaming and then give my view on gaming and why I believe that gaming is more than just a hobby. I am going to explain this by giving a brief introduction of a typical gamer as I feel this will give the reader an easier time imagining who we are talking about in this blog, then discuss the negatives and positives so I can rationally explain my opinion on gaming and if it is more than just a hobby.
Profile of a Typical Gamer:
Gaming is most popular amongst people that are under-going an undergraduate education and game as a means of escapism, entertainment and socializing with friends (Griffiths et al., 2004). Another attribute of a gamer is the gender factor; gaming is more popular amongst men than women. Scientist’s claim this to be because of how our brain works and is divided, men are more spatial aware, whilst women more language specialized (Morgan et al, 2004). In other words the most common gamer is a male doing an undergraduate education.
The Negatives:
· The younger you are the more likely you are to get addicted to gaming as you are easily influenced (Gunter, 1998).
· Another negative factor about gaming is that it is very time-consuming (especially online games) and this often leads to people sacrificing of other activities to play games, in many cases social activities. This factor is perhaps the most criticized point when it comes to gaming as people often would see the correlation of gaming and alienation of individuals (Ng et al., 2005).
· Gaming hours on end can be and is very strenuous on the on the eyes, this I can personally account for, as before being an avid gamer my eyes were nowhere near as bad as they are today, went from -1.75 to -4.75 as I have now (Lin, 2005).
· Kids grow up too fast, as they view content that isn’t appropriate for them. Studies show that 68% of boys and 29% of girls included a M-rated (17+) game on their list of games they play, a survey conducted by the Psychiatric Times (Matthews, 2008). Disturbing as games with inappropriate content may affect the child in various ways; there is a reason for the rating system.
The Positives:
· A new form of a social activity, even though people blame gaming in many cases for alienation, it simply is a new form of communicating and being social, as is shown in the following statistics: 69.3% of adolescents play or have played with friends and roughly 76.2% of adults play or have played with friends. In other words people critiquing this aspect are simply ill-informed; as gaming can be a social activity just not in the traditional sense.
· As for personal attributes gaming has to offer the fact that it helps increase reaction speeds and can aid spatial awareness of individuals. Gamers of certain types of video games are affected to the point that they are 30-50% better than non-gamers in absorbing and taking in what happens around them according to a journal Nature, which re-confirms the idea of spatial awareness (Blakeslee, 2003).
“The tendency to escape from daily reality or routine by indulging in daydreaming, fantasy, or entertainment.” - Escapism (American Heritage Dictionary, 2003)
· Gaming allows people to escape reality and express and/or explore worlds unknown to them and that fascinate users at the same. For some it may be used as a form of relaxation others to escape a reality perhaps not wanted.
· Computer games in general can function both as entertainment but also for learning purposes.
Being productive, gaming allows people to show their skills in various ways. In 1994, the creators behind Doom released a level editor which meant the users could edit characters and scenarios as they felt. This was unquestionably welcomed by the community as various mod’s were released by avid and passionate gamers. Popular mod creators were then scouted by companies to further enhance the already existing product or a completely third company would recruit as they had proven themselves. I would definitely consider this a positive aspect of gaming, as a gamers passion can lead them down paths they weren’t aware of but wanted. This is just an example of how gaming can be more than just a hobby but also a means of getting to your destination a career. (Herz, 1997)
People perceive gaming as to be a means of escaping reality, which I will not argue it isn’t for some, but to many people it is a means of being able to explore fantasy worlds or relive history. If one is an avid computer gamer, then it is important to remember that everything in life needs to be done in moderation including gaming. And in the circumstances of a child, I firmly believe that parents that purchase games that are inappropriate for their child’s age are irresponsible. This is definitely a generalization on my part, as all children aren’t the same and parents have the right to judge what is appropriate or not for their child, but I definitely believe parents should do research before they make their decision. As a part of a conclusion to this essay I would also like to say that I believe gaming is here to stay and that I believe it can definitely be more than a hobby it really depends on how seriously you take it and how you want to apply yourself when gaming, to some it is a sport (e-sport) others a form of relaxation, but I believe it should all be done in moderation as some people do have an addictive personality and should be careful.
“Being within reasonable limits; not excessive or extreme” - Moderation (American Heritage Dictionary, 2003)
Reference List:
American Heritage (2003). Dictionary of the English Language. Houghton Mifflin Company
Morgan, K., Brebbia, C.A., Sanchez, J., & Voiskounsky, A. (2004). Human Perspectives in the Internet Society: Culture, Psychology, and Gender. Southampton: WIT Press.
Gunter, B. (1998). The Effects of Video Games on Children: The Myth Unmasked. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.
Sandra Blakeslee (2003). Video-Game Killing Builds Visual Skills. http://query.nytimes.com (accessed 16 May 2008)
Squire, K. (2002). Cultural Framing of Computer/Video Games. GameStudies, 2:1.
Griffiths, M.D., Davies, M. N. O., Chappell, D. (2004) Online computer gaming: a comparison of adolescent and adult gamers. Journal of Adolescent, 27.
Hanson, T. (2008). The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games. OpenEducation.net
Herz, J.C. (1997). Joystick Nation: How Videogames Gobbled Our Money, Won Our Hearts and Rewired Our Minds. New York: Little Brown
Lin, H. (2005) Gendered Gaming Experience in Social Space: From Home to Internet Café. Authors & Digital Games Research Association DiGRA
Ng, B.D., Wiemer-Hastings, P. (2005) CyberPsychology & Behavior. 8:2
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